Faulty By Design
by short1830
Summary: There is always strength in numbers, but what happens when anger drives people apart and forces them to have to work together to accomplish their own goals, forcing them to have to relearn how to converse in ways they long forgot?
1. The Twins: Part One

**A/N: Well looky here, I believe this might be a new story huh... Well, this is one that I've had in my head for a while now, hopefully these guys will pull you in just as much as the last team. but for now, we focus on other things.**

 **The Twins: Part One**

Today was the day... Or that's what Sulus and Clara's mother, Catalina, kept saying. It was the day of a supposed Faunas rally, something Sulus had been keen on attending. Clara however, was indifferent, she just wanted to be with her family. And since they were are active White Fang supporters, this seemed like the best way to do it, besides staying at home and playing tag.

Sulus was in his room, idly brushing his tail and counting out loud. So far he had reached 37. His brush stroked through his fur gently and his motion was slow and precise as to make sure he didn't yank a knot out roughly. Clara leaned on the door way with a small grin as she watched her minute older brother. "You brush your tail too much." She said, her tone ever teasing as she began to approach him with a grin.

"You don't brush your teeth enough." Sulus sniped without looking up from his tail, but by the small growl and the foot stomp, he knew he had gotten his desired reaction.

"That's not true!" Clara exclaimed, arms crossed and her face set in a furious pout. Sulus snickered but quickly hushed when his mom stepped in. Seeing the two sit in odd silence made Catalina smile a bit. She knew her children, and she knew that when they were silent, the had either just argued, or were plotting some sort of surprise.

"What happened?" She asked with an amused smile as Clara grabbed her pant's leg and pointed to Sulus. "Sulus said I don't brush my teeth enough!" Sulus smiled a bit, now on stroke 56. He still hadn't denied the accusation, no need. His mom knew him well, and she knew that was something he would say.

"Sully, you know what I said about picking on your sister." Catalina chided as her hands ran through his wild light grey hair. "Yeah yeah, I got it." Sulus moved his head aside and looked up to her with his sky blue eyes and childish smile. "But she made it easy for me that time." Sulus argued jokingly. His mom sighed as she sat down beside him with a soft smile. "The easiest route isn't always the best."

Sulus sighed and finished brushing his tail, which his mother took and gauged it for a moment before she let an even bigger smile take hold. "Perfect, good job Sully." Sulus' smile brightened as he stood from his spot and fixed his clothes. His sister stepped beside him and both of them looked up to their mother. Their sky blue eyes ever curious and bright, their smiles always contagious and fun. "I love you two."

"We love you too, mom!"

After the three finished getting ready they left the house and began to walk to the town square, Catalina holding both Sulus and Clara's hands as they walked. She knew if she didn't Sulus would be off, hoping to meet the man running the White Fang, and Clara would have been running after him to try and reign him in, only for Sulus to run faster to get away from her. It was a system Catalina had learned early on. It was a hassle for their teachers who still didn't quite understand, so to fix the problem Catalina took extra time to keep them in the same classes. Of course them being in the same class didn't fix the problem... It just made it amendable, considering Sulus gets protective and worried for Clara when she's far away, so he'll actively look for her, while Clara will constantly want to be by his side so she can keep him on the right track. The joys of raising twins Catalina thought.

"Mom! Is that where the rally is?!" Sulus used his free hand to point to the center of Vale, in it was perhaps a thousand faunas, maybe even more, all congregated in front of a podium. Behind the podium sat a dozen or so people one of which was likely going to be speaking today. Catalina smiled ever so slightly as she looked down to her two jewels, both smiling with wonder in their eyes. "It is. We can't get too close up you guys, well have to be in the back."

The face Sulus made, was actually saddening. it was like someone had just taken his tail and stepped on it. "But... Mooom... I wanna meet the leader!" Catalina smiled at him patiently and knelt down in front of him, her green eyes doing their best to sooth his sorrow. "We'll try to meet him another time. I don't want to accidentally loose you, okay?"

Sulus pouted for a moment before Clara nudged him and briefly nodded to their mom. Sulus straightened his posture and nodded. "Alright... Next time, and I mean it!" Catalina smiled and kissed his head before she took both her kid's hands again and began to lead them to a nice spot to watch and listen. It was actually kind of hard to do so, seeing as most of the tow square was filled to the brim with people. Which was to be expected during a rally as large as this one. Eventually they found a space under tree that hid them from the sun and gave them a good position to see the podium unobstructed. It was there that Sulus mad a life changing decision.

"Mom, can I climb the tree and sit up there?" Catalina looked at the tree above them and pursed her lips, it was reasonably tall and had an outstretched branch in the direction of the podium. "Alright... But be careful." Sulus smiled and let go, he zoomed up the tree and sat down on the branch with his legs crossed. A small tug on Catalina's arm made her look to Clara who had a pleading expression. A small sigh escaped her lips and she nodded. "Don't pester your brother." Clara smiled and climbed up after him and did her best not to knock Sulus over, or get in his way, thankfully their small frames allowed them to sit side by side with hardly any issue. Catalina was pretty glad that her daughter listened a bit better than her brother. But when the cheers began, her attention was pulled away and back to the podium.

A giant faunas had began to walk across the stage to get to the podium, "Mommy, is that him!? The leader?" Sulus asked from his tree. Cat couldn't help but smile, her son sounded beyond excited, she could tell he was probably bursting from the seems right now. "Stop jumping so much Sully!" Eeyup, he was happy.

The rally began with cheers from the surrounding supporters and definitely from Sulus, he was seeing his role model for the first time. The man Sulus had looked up to and the person his mom told him stories about, Ghira Belladonna, High Leader of the White Fang. "Cool..." Sulus muttered dreamily as watched and listened.

Sulus was excited, surprised, and breathless all rolled into a small package. His sister was much more contained however, wearing a gentle smile and watching with inquisitive eyes. Neither spoke while Ghira did, both were too focused on trying to understand him. It wasn't that he had an accent, it was just that he was using big words like segregation and inequality. And when a kid can't understand they loose their focus, Sulus was no exception.

After a while he ended up looking away and around, just seeing what was around them, there were many buildings of course, this was the town square after all, it was meant to be in the center. in this area of Vale it seemed that the buildings hardly ever went over two stories, but there were a few buildings that did go up to four, such has parking garages and hospitals. There were probably other buildings of importance, but Sulus couldn't name them.

One building seemed to have an odd sparkle in one of the rooms... What had his mom called it? A hotel? Sulus didn't know, but something peeked inside of him, something dangerous to most little kids, his curiosity. He gently nudged Clara to get her attention. "What Sully?" Clara looked at him with clear annoyance, Clara seemed to understand the speech and had gotten interested in it. Sulus pointed to the room with the sparkle. "What's that?"

Clara looked at it and shrugged. "I dunno, ask mom." Sulus gauged that option quickly and shook his head. "She won't tell me..." Sulus knew the answer he would likely get, 'Just ignore it Sully.'. Sulus didn't like that answer and he hadn't even heard it yet. He pursed his lips for a moment before he quietly stood from his spot and jumped from the tree, landing softly and proceeding to jog after the building with the sparkle. Clara gasped and looked down to their mom who was none the wiser to the issue going on behind her. Clara sighed and hopped down the tree and took off after Sulus.

When Clara caught up to him she grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him back. "We gotta go back to mom!" Sulus pulled away and kept going. "We'll go back before she sees! Come on!" Clara couldn't even get a word out before Sulus broke off in a sprint that even an adult would have an issue keeping up with. Clara sighed and chased after him. She knew this could only end badly.

Sulus watched the sparkle as they ran, noting that it didn't move from it's position, but it did flicker depending on the angle he ran. He didn't understand it, but he wanted to see it up close. It was in the fourth story of a hotel. He pushed inside of the hotel, Clara stumbling in after him panting. Sulus didn't take a break as he stepped in and looked around. They were in the center of the lobby, some people were walking around, workers were moving carts and doing their jobs. Clara stepped up next to him and looked around worriedly. "What are we doing?"

"Hunting." Sulus said with a grin as he made his way to the elevator. Only to be stopped by a man double his height, which wasn't had considering he was only 7. "Young man, if I may ask, where are you going all alone?"

Sulus thought for a moment before he gave the man a childish smile. "Me and sis were going upstairs to go see our dad! We just got dropped off by my friend's mom and said we could get the rest of the way." The man raised an eyebrow and watched Sulus for a moment, his gaze turning to a squint. "Tell your father to meet you in the lobby next time, we can't have any child getting lost, now you and your sister get to your dad."

Sulus smiled and nodded, grabbing Clara by the wrist and tugging her to the elevator before she could ruin the whole plan. "Thank you sir!" Sulus waved as he pressed the button to the elevator doors and they slid closed. As soon as they did Clara socked him in the arm.

"What was that?!" Clara knew they didn't have a dad, as did Sulus. "I lied, I really wanna see what's up here and they wouldn't let us if they knew no one was here for us." Clara sighed and shook her head, face palming as she did so, "We are in so much trouble..."

"Stop being such a wimp, it's not like we're gonna be gone long, and even if we were, we can just say that it was hot so we went find a place to cool off." Clara looked at him for a moment, expression uncertain. "It's weird that you can lie so quickly." She said as the doors opened to the fourth floor. Sulus peeked his head out and checked to see if any grown ups were around to spot them. Once he was sure they were clear he stepped off the elevator and walked left to where he was sure the sparkle was, only problem was, he couldn't see into the rooms and he was sure there were at least 40 rooms on the left side of the fourth floor alone, there was no way he could find it quickly, at least... Not from this view.

"Follow me!" Sulus waved for Clara to follow as he stepped into the employee only stairs and started going up to the roof. He pushed the door open and smiled as the light blotted out his vision for but a moment and then he could see the sky and a few other tall buildings. Sulus wasted no time running over to the edge and looking down to see what it looked like being so high up.

"Wow... we are really high up..." Sulus muttered as he looked over to Clara who had her arms crossed. "And why are we up here?" Sulus shook his head and hopped onto the ledge and pointed down. "We're gonna climb around." Clara's mouth fell open. Sulus cared little however and soon was lowering himself and gripping small ledges tightly, his tail providing balance as he shifted along the vertical surface, gabbing onto any outcroppings he could feel or see.

The search took time, maybe ten or so minutes, long enough for Sulus to know his mother was probably calling their name and getting worried. It mattered little to him, because as he peeked into the last possible window, he found what he was looking for, or at least what he thought it was.

It was a black, cylindrical object that was connected to a bigger object. It had a really skinny and long cylindrical shape, attached to a black rectangle. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but at least now he knew what room to knock on. He saw a man sitting near a table doing something so he knew there was someone home. So knowing this information he climbed back up to Clara who was definitely mad at him.

"Come on! I found it." Sulus booked it before she could even yell at him. He almost leaped down the stairs and out of the stairwell and back into the main hallway. He stopped outside of the room that had the sparkly thingy and waited for Clara before he knocked on the door. It took the man moments to open the door with a friendly smile, only problem was he was looking above them, unaware of their presences, so Sulus got his attention.

"Hello sir, I was wondering if I could come see your sparkly thingy." Sulus smiled up to the man happily. The man tilted his head confusingly before shaking his head slightly. "What are you talking about?" Sulus sighed and ducked past the man despite his protests and pointed at the object again.

"That thing." Sulus said with a determined expression, he had ran away from his mom, endangered his life, and lied. He was going to see the sparkly thingy. Clara meanwhile stood with a wide open mouth, but soon it clicked shut and she spoke quietly. "Sully... That's a gun..." Clara all but whispered.

The man grabbed Clara by the hair and slung her into the room with Sulus, slamming the door shut and locking it. His smile now gone, replaced with a snarl. Sulus was looking at him with the same expression. "No one treats my sister like that!" Sulus charged forward in an blur and hit the man with all his might, nothing happened.

Except the man doing the same to him.

Sulus was laid out in a single punch, his head swimming and his body going limp. He could hear the sound of crying as he faded into a deep sleep.

It didn't last long, or maybe it had, he didn't know. He woke up tied to his sister back to back, he could her sobbing quietly. He then looked to the man and saw he had a chair pulled up behind the gun and was looking through the sparkly thingy. Sulus knew a bit about guns, but he didn't recognize the one the man was using, that was why he didn't think it was a gun.

"I wanna go to my mom... Let us go... Please?" Clara's voice was strained and raspy, like she had been crying. Sulus didn't like hearing that. He gently nudged her and turned his head so he could kind of see her.

"Clara, your claws..." Sulus whispered, his voice so low even he had trouble hearing it. Clara merely shook her head and looked down. "Even if I did, he would catch us before we got to the door." She whispered back. Sulus bit his lip and looked down. He could feel tears pooling at the corner of his eyes from pure frustration. They had to get out of here... But something also said that the man needed to be stopped.

"Just do it...I got a plan." Sulus said, his gaze fixed on the man now. Sulus could tell he was going to hurt people. He showed his true side when he grabbed Clara like she was a grown man. In Sulus' mind, that meant war as best he could wage as a seven year old boy. Sulus heard Clara sigh and soon the sound of the rope getting cut could be heard by him. It felt like it took several hours for the ropes to finally slacken around their wrists.

"When I say go, run to mom as fast as you can." Sulus said, his teeth grit. Clara looked at him and bit her lip. "Be careful okay?" Sulus gave her a singular nod, his hands grabbing a hold of the ropes that once confined him. His heart beat as he watched the man touch on top of the sparkly thing. He leaned in close to the thing and squinted one eye. As soon as he did he whispered to Clara.

"Go quietly." Clara nodded and pushed herself to stand, Sulus did as well, his hands still holding onto the rope. Clara gently stepped up to the door and reached for the nob and twisted the lock. As soon as it clicked Sulus enacted his plan, the rope went over the man's head and under his chin. With all his strength he pulled backwards with both his hands. The gun went off with a thunderous bang, though it wasn't as loud as he expected for a gun that big. Sulus heard the door open and slam shut and then distant footfalls as his sister ran to get help.

Sulus yanked back when he felt the rope begin to pull away from him. Sulus curled his body into a ball meanwhile holding the rope, all of his weight being used to choke the man. The man choked and gurgled as the weight pushed into his trachea and cutting off his oxygen. the weight from Sulus and the man leaning back made the chair lean and fall back onto Sulus, making him gasp for air and from pain.

The man coughed and sputtered as he rolled from the chair, he tried to regain his lost air, giving Sulus time to push the chair off and take off for the kitchen, grabbing the first thing he saw laying on the counter top. It was a knife with a curved blade and black handle. His mom had one at home, he knew those were the really sharp ones. It was a fillet knife. He grabbed it by the handle and turned around to see the man storming over to him.

As the man reached out to grab Sulus with both arms, Sulus ducked under the arm and slipped past him, the blade cutting the man's jeans and into his flesh by accident. The man howled in pain and spun around and kicked Sulus in the back with enough force to knock all of the air from his body. It was then that Sulus made up his mind.

He didn't want to fight. He just wanted to be able to run as far and as fast as he could. He was afraid of getting hurt, he was afraid to die. He just wanted to go back to his mom and take the punishment he likely deserved.

"Where'd you go you filthy fuckin' faunas?" Sulus sat up and looked at the man with teary eyes. Only to be really confused. The man was standing almost directly over him. The man didn't see him? Sulus looked to his hand and to his surprise he couldn't see anything. He tried to look at his leg, only to see nothing...

He was invisible?

So many questions ran though his mind so rapidly he couldn't even open up his mouth to speak. The man growled and turned around, thinking Sulus was there. Sulus pulled the hand up that he was sure the knife was in... Nothing. He stood up and looked at the man with squinted eyes. If the man couldn't see him... Then he couldn't hurt him. Sulus grinned as he dashed forward and stabbed the man in the back of his leg.

The man howled in pain and swung around, aiming to hit Sulus, which he managed to do. Sulus fell backwards with a yelp, his face stung as he looked at the man. He was grabbing the knife and trying to get it out of his thigh. Sulus looked around for something that could help him fight, his eyes strayed across the gun.

He rushed over and grabbed it, the weight hit him instantly as he did his best to lift it. The rifle clacked in his arms as he grit his teeth and groaned when he couldn't get the weapon up. Then the sound he feared happened.

The knife clattered to the floor.

Sulus looked up in horror to see the man looking dead at him, his smile turning cruel and evil as he slowly approached Sulus. "You were gonna shoot _me_? Hehe, you tried kid, I'll give you that." The man balled up his fists as he kept walking.

Sulus stepped back, weapon still in his hands, his fear more that evident by the tears sliding down his cheeks, "Get away from me!" The man laughed and kept walking, "Is the big bad kitty getting scared now?" He was messing with Sulus. And it was working. Sulus didn't want to die, he didn't want to get hurt... But he didn't want that man to hurt anyone else.

Sulus could feel his heart beat fast and his muscles tensed as he yanked the gun upwards as high as he could, positioning the barrel snugly at his stomach. The man froze in horror as he looked into the eyes of the boy in front of him. Sulus was crackling with a light blue energy as he watched the man. The man shook his fear away and reached for Sulus.

The gun went off. A loud boom filled the room and the man screamed just as loud, if not louder. He fell to the floor and clutched his stomach as blood spilled from his body and spread across the floor, his face etched in pain and fear. The sight made Sulus stare blankly for a moment before he eventually dropped the gun and ran past the man, but as he got passed the door he could feel his energy plummet. His body collapsed as soon as he got out of the room. He was down for the count.


	2. The Twins: Part Two

**A/N: Oh hello, if anyone cares to know why I've taken so long and STILL havent posted anything for my other story (Knight's Legacy), the reason is, I've come down with a sevre case of laziness/writer's block/lack of motivation. Which ever you prefer, but either way, I'm trying to give out something with some kind of quality and hopefully I can do it. So please accept my apology and have fun reading!**

 **The Twins: Part Two**

A high pitched beep pinged as Sulus stirred slowly. The beeping was constant, almost rhythmic. He didn't know what it was, or why it kept going, but he oddly didin't mind it. As he tried to push himself up, he felt covers slide down from his chest and to his lap, but that was mostly ignored by what he saw. Four white walls with all types of... Stuff, Sulus didn't understand any of it, he was a kid. What he did understand was that his mom was sleeping in a chair beside him while Clara was asleep on her lap, curled into a small ball in her chest.

"Psst." Someone was trying to get Sulus' attention, his head looked to the door and saw that it was completely closed, but then he turned to his left and saw a girl. She was maybe around his size with large amber eyes and soft looking black hair that went just above her shoulders, and atop her head sat two black cat ears. She was a faunas.

"W-Who are you?" Sulus asked quietly, he knew when someone wasn't where they were supposed to be. "You saved my dad." She said,her smile growing a bit. Sulus was still confused. He saved someone? Her dad? Sulus didn't remember anyone else in the room, but then again the man was aiming his gun at someone, so it must have been her dad. That raised a valid question.

"Who's your dad?"

"Ghira Belladonna." Sulus' jaw dropped and the girl giggled quietly for a moment. Sulus was actually dumbfounded that this girl was his daughter. A thought sparked in his head and his jaw closed and his lips curved into a wide smile. "I saved the leader of the White Fang?" The girl nodded rapidly. Sulus laughed a bit and leaned back into his bed. He had saved a life... Did that make him a hero like the ones in the movies? He thought so, all he needed now was a cape and he'd be set.

"Well I'm glad you two are hitting it off so well." Catalina said softly, her eyes locked onto Sulus with almost no expression, that alone scared Sulus half to death... "Blake, Clara, could you two leave the room for a moment?"

An achor seemed to have dropped in Sulus' stomach. The girl, Blake, and Clara left with little to no words. As soon as the door clicked shut, his mother was on him...

Giving him the tightest hug she had ever given him. He could feel the tears on his shoulders as her body shook from relief. She had been so worried about him while he was away. And then when Clara found her and told her what was going on she felt even worse. She felt like a failure of a parent, how could she have not noticed her son and daughter missing for so long?

Sulus' arms wrapped around her as best they could and hugged her back, "It's okay mom... I'm fine... Don't cry..." Sulus' words were soft and caring. He didn't mean to make his own mom cry. He just wanted to see the thing. He didn't know what was connected to it...

After minutes of just holding each other, his mom finally took in a deep breath and released him. She might have said more, but there was a knock at the door that needed her attention. She turned to the door and went open it. Sulus wasn't neccesarily in the positition to see who it was so he simply sat and waited. He saw his mom grin and step back as a giant man ducked under the doorframe slightly, his amber eyes finding Sulus and smiling as he saw him.

"So you are the boy that saved me?" His voice was deep but not scary, he seemed nice enough. Sulus was stunned currently, still mentally reeling by the fact that Ghira Belladonna was in front of him. "Sully? Say something." His mom nudged his shoulder and he jumped as he snapped back into the world.

"Y-Yeah! I'm Sulus Sol." Sulus bowed his head ever so slightly, he didn't know what else to say, or if he was even supposed to say anything. Ghira smiled and sat down at the end of his bed, his amusement clear as he looked over Sulus.

"I owe a great debt to you Sulus. If it hadn't been for you, I might not be here now." Sulus looked down, the tone in the room feeling somber. "You did a brave thing Sulus." Sulus felt a heavy hand clasp his shoulder. The act made Sulus smile and giggle. "Thank you sir."

"No, thank you. You have done a great deed, not just for me, but for my cause, and my family. If there is anything you want, I will do my best to get it for you." Sulus' jaw dropped and he looked up to his mom to see what she had to say about all of this. She simply smiled as she watched.

Sulus looked down to the covers, his thoughts running wild. He wanted a lot of things, but Ghira would only give him one thing. What did he want above all else? A puppy? A new game system? a giant toy robot? No... He didn't want those things as much as he wanted something else. Something that meant more to him than anything else in the world, besides his family. He looked up to Ghira, expression determined as he spoke.

"I want to join the White Fang."

The silence that insued confused him greatly. His mom looked worried and Ghira looked apprehensive as well. Ghira looked to Catalina who was currently unable to answer the question. Sulus frowned and looked down, he could feel the answer coming a mile away.

"It's up to your mother." Ghira said, clearly he had limitations. He couldn't just say yes.

Sulus' head snapped up to his mom with a pleading expression. "Please mom? I promise I'll be the best in school, a-and I'll be the best member ever!" Sulus was filled with hope now. His mom let out a heavy sighas she looked down in thought. She was like that for a moment before she looked up.

"No." Sulus deflated instantly, his body sinking back into the bed. The one thing he had ever truly wanted had been denied. "Not until after you get off punishment." She added with a small smile. Those words made Sulus jump from his bed and hug his mom tightly. "Thank you mom! I love you so much!"

Catalina held him for a while, her smile soft and loving, she was proud of Sulus even if he had almost gotten himself killed, he had prevailed and saved lives. He was her little hero. She could already see him waving this in Clara's face. She pushed that thought aside and noticed that he wasn't still wrapped around her, now he was doing his best to wrap his small arms around Ghira who gave him a small hug. "Thank you too." Sulus said as he looked up to Ghira, his eyes sparkling.

Ghira ruffled his hair with a soft smile. "You aee welcome, now, you might want to get back in bed, the doctor should be here in a moment to check on you." Sulus nodded, let go, and hopped back into bed, covering himself up.

When the doctor showed up it was a rather quick process, mostly Sulus just pointing out if anything felt strange or he was hurting. Sulus actually felt better than ever, he couldn't really explain it but ever since he turned invisible... He quickly told that to the doctor and watched as eyes around the room widened and Sulus simply sat there with a completely happy expression.

"You... You turned invisble?" The doctor asked, his eyes going back down to the clipboard he carried to write it down, write next to possible head truama. "Sulus, what do you mean invisble?" Catalina asked, he expression somewhere between confused and enthraled, and as Sulus told his tale on how he became invisble, she couldn't help but regret not keeping an eye on him, jeez...

"And then I was like BANG...!" Sulus paused for a moment and then looked up to the doctor with a worried appearance. "Where... Where is the man?" The man? The man that had tried to kill Sulus, Clara, and Ghira?

The doctor looked to Catalina and slowly shook his head. The truth was that man had died shortly after he got to the hospital, the wound he had was beyond repair. Sulus had killed him. "He went to jail sweety, you won't be seeing him ever again."

Sulus exhaled deeply and sunk into his bed happily, he seemed so proud and pleased with himself. Catalina was hardpressed not to feel the same way about him. Her son, who hadn't even hit double digits yet, had managed to defend himself, a prominent figure in the faunas community, and come out of it almost completely unscathed. For the most part, Sulus was a hero.

In the later weeks to come, the story had made news headlines everywhere, most calling Sulus a hero in training, a title which Sulus enjoyed greatly. Eventually however, the media attention died down, and life resumed as if nothing happened, every now and again the topic would pick up, but not long enough for media to care. But as time went on Sulus began his training for the White Fang, day in and out was spent getting better with what his family would later find out to be his semblance and aura. Sulus had managed to be an active member of the White Fang, obtaining a relatively high postion amongst his peers by the age of 15, and continuing with his more schoolastic studies, however... He neglected something rather important.

His family.

Catalina wasn't upset with Sulus in the slightest, she encouraged him to go after his dreams and be the best at what he wanted to be, it was Clara who brough it up. Those arguments were... Intense... Sulus was naturally headstonrg, while Clara was always family oriented. Every argument ended with her crying and screaming her point, trying to get her idiot twin to undestand that being with his own family wouldn't cause his goal to slip away. That being with their mom was good. Sulus didn't see why these arguments got so out of hand. He believd whole heartedly that he was doing the best he could and that he wasn't hurting anyone, except Clara. The two would go days without speaking to each other.

It had been another one of those nights, though this time it ended differently. "Why don't you get it!?" Clara screamed at Sulus as he tried to walk away to find some place she wasn't. His mom had restricted using his semblance in the house because he kept scaring her. That also meant he couldn't get away from his bitch of a sister.

"Why are you the only one who makes a big deal out of this!? It's not like I'm doing anything wrong! I'm just trying to help out our people! You would think that would let me off the hook." Sulus retored, plopping down on the couch where he grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV, hoping she would give up... She didn't.

"No, it doesn't let you off the hook! We're your family, you should be with us more than some people you don't even know!" Clara stepped in front of him with crossed arms and disdain clear on her face. Her sky blue eyes mirroring the look Sulus was giving her.

"The Fang is my family, Clara, at least there I don't have to deal with your constant bitching!" Clara visibly flinched from the cursed word, she hadn't expected that. "You wouldn't have to hear it if you just stayed home with mom every once in a while! Why don't you try thinking about other people besides yourself once in your life, who knows, you might actually be good at it!"

Sulus snorted and grabbed something off the table and held it in her face. It was a mask, his mask. It was larger than a normal member's mask, the one he had actually covered the entire face. It was shaped more like a wolf's skull, the eyes seemed wholely black, but it was actually see through, he could see through it just fine, but no one could look into the eyes an see his. He rather liked it. It signified his position as an Honor Guard. "My job is to protect Ghira, so yeah, I'm damn good at thinking of other people!"

"That's a job, what about me, or mom!? The people you seem to forget exist!" Clara poked his head and pushed it back a bit, that was also the same time Sulus had had enough of her yelling.

"I WISH YOU DIDN'T EXHIST, I HATE YOU!"

Clara stumbled back, eyes slowly tearing up as she backed away from her twin, his anger radiating from him like his own aura. He had a right to be angry, didn't he? It had been years and she was still yelling at him over the same thing constantly, there was only so much he could take.

Clara eventually ran away from him and up the stairs. "Tch..." Sulus sighed, not in the mood to hear his mom yell either. He grabbed his mask and clipped it to his belt loop and walked out the house, closing the door quietly behind him, soon after his semblance activated and he walked, disapearing from sight.

He walked through the night, ignoring most situations, the rustle in the trashcans, the occasional sound of glass shattering, even the sound of gunshots. He knew none of it was for him, no one could even see him so why should he be worried?

Sulus got to his destination after a while, stopping in an allyway and looking at a fully metal door. He knocked on it, paused, knocked again, paused, and then hit it three more times and waited. Meer seconds passed before someone opened the door.

Her amber eyes locked onto his and her cat ears flicked as the cold air hit them. She didn't smile, even though he had. She simply stepped back into the safehouse and let him enter. "Sulus, what have you gotten into this time?" Blake's tone was as monotone as every, which had kind of become a trend.

Sulus rolled hs eyes and slipped past her and walked over to the couch, passing various faunas along the way, each different from the last. This was a safehouse of sorts, a place for faunas who were being ridiculed in the outside world to relax. Sulus' situation may not have been the exact same, but that didn't stop him from plopping down on the couch like he had a long day. "Me and Clara got into it...Again..."

Blake gave off no emotion, besides a small twitch of her lips, besides that she had been completly blank. "Maybe you should do as she says. It wouldn't be a poblem for you to stay home every now and again."

"Ugh, now you sound like Clara." Sulus muttered, pulling his scroll out to play a mobile game, at least that way he could get his curent thoughts out of his mind. "That may be because I believe she is right. You have spent little time with your family since joining the White Fang, even I set aside time for my family."

Sulus snorted glancing up to her for a breif moment before his eyes found his scroll again. "That's easy for you to say, you dad treats any Fang memeber like family, to you the White Fang is your family."

Blake let small smile slide across her face. "For once, you are not wrong." Blake stood to her feet and bowed to him. "But I must go home, my actual family is waiting on me." Sulus nodded and waved as Blake left the safehouse and headed home.

Sulus played games on his scroll for hours before he himself found that sleep was overpowering him. He laid down across the couch and closed his eyes, maybe sleep could ease his mind of the stress he felt? Only one way to find out.

Meanwhile Clara was sitting in her mom's bed, watching Catalina a she sat down in front of a beautiful dresser that housed a mirror for convenience. "Mom, you should make him stay home. Letting him just run around while you... It's selfish. He needs to be here, with you, it shouldn't just be me."

Clara watched as her mother gently pulled off the wig from her head and place it in a drawer before closing it. Catalina stood and turned around, her smile still as beautiful as ever, but it seemed so very tired. "Let him be Clara, he shouldn't be burdened with the knowlege of this." Clara stood herself, slowly walking up to her mom and hugging her gently, her tears hard to hold back.

"I love you mom... I love you so much." Catalina smiled, placing a chaste kiss on her daughter's head. "I love you too, even your brother, no matter how stubborn he may be." Clara nodded her head, she had long since pressed her face into the crook of her mother's neck to hide her own tears. Catalina knew they were there, she could feel a dampness on her neck directly where Clara's head was rested.

Eventually Catalina let her arms drop to her side, only to find that Clara wasn't letting go. As Catalina stepped forward, Clara went with her. Even as she laid down into her bed, Clara was with her still holding on. Cataline smiled to herself, pulling the covers over them both and letting the warmth consume her. It had been so long since either of the kids had laid with her, it was a welcome feeling.

The next morning Sulus yawned as he rose from the couch, he noticed how Blake was sitting not too far from him, a bowl of cereal in hand and one in front of him. She was quietly eating, her eyes looking dead at him, most would feel some sort of shame a quickly look away, Blake didn't seem to have that same poblem. "Good morning." Sulus said as he slowly sat up and stretched his arms. Blake gave him a single nod.

From then on Sulus had decided to join in on the silence while he ate. It would have likely continued had it not been for the call on his scroll. He picked it up with his free hand and placed it on his shoulder, leaning his cheek on it to keep it stable.

"Hello?... This is him..." Blake watched the nuetral expression on his face slowly turn to one of horror. His eyes widening and the ceral that was once in his hands had clattered to the floor. "Sulus, what's wong?" She never got an answer.

He ha bolted at speeds she had rarely seen from anyone, even herself. Of course she gave chase. Even as she tried to give it her all Sulus was ahead, his destination unknown to her, but wherever it was it must have been important.

She looked up from his back and saw a giant red cross on the side of a building. They were at a hospital and Sulus was running through the door and to the receptionist who was standing and filing some sort of paper work, whatever it was mattered little to Sulus. "Catalina Sol, where is she!?" The woman jumped from surprise and looked to the child in front of her, what she saw was someone who was slowly breaking.

"Name?" The woman grabbed a file and looked through it, that action only seemed to anger Sulus. "Sulus Sol, now where is she!?" Blake gently placed a hand on his shoulder, her cheeks dusted a rosey color from the tiredness she felt, Sulus however looked fresh... Besies the tears she saw on his face.

"Room 329." The woman pointed down the hall and Sulus took off with Blake chasing after him once again. The woman might have called after Blake to stop her but it didn't work, she was worried, even if her expression didn't show it.

Sulus almost smashed through the door when he came across the room with the number 329 beside it. What he saw inside almost froze him completely. His mother was in a hospital bed, hooked to an IV, a heartrate moniter was slowly beeping, indicating the slowing heart in her chest. She was wearing some sort of cap, her usual hair missing. On her left was Clara who was holding Catalina's hand tightly, her head down as her body shook.

"M-Mom..." Sulus slowly padded his way up to the left side of her bed, he hadn't even put on his shoes before he ran out. Cataline let her head slowly drif over to him, her smile was meak and tired, Sulus stood over her, his eyes screaming for answers to questions he didn't have the heart to ask. Catalina reached out of him to come closer, his body doing what his mind could barely even process, his hand instantly taking hers.

"Hey Sully." Her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper, "Clara had wanted me to tell you so long ago..." She took in a breath of air, one Blake silently feared would be her last. "But... I didn't want to ruin your dreams." Sulus let his tears flow as he slowly shook his head, he seemed to loose control as it fell into the bed and he cried into it.

"M-Mom... I would have stayed!" Sulus screamed into the bed. "I would have helped, I would have done whatever you asked! None of my dreams are as important as you!" Sulus cried out, his voice so choked up he could barely even get them out.

"I... I know you would have... But then what about everying else?" Sulus shook his head, his eyes closed and his teeth grit. "None of it matters! I should have stayed! You can't go, we don't have anyone else!" Sulus pleaded, the hurt had never been more clear in his voice and his mom could here it, she could see it, and he could see her tears as well.

"I'm sorry Sulus... I'm so sorry..." Those words struck Sulus down, he actually slowly stepped back, his body trembling with the fear of being alone, the fear of losing his mom, the fear of her blaming him. He didn't have the courage to watch his mother die, he hardly had enough to be there then, but those words... Whatever he had left was gone.

Sulus fled.

The room fell silent as all eyes fell to the floor, everyone was at a loss of words. Sulus had ran away when Clara and Catalina needed him most. Clara even made it known. "That asshole..."

Catalina rolled over and faced her daughter and shook her head, her eyes heavy and tears streaking down her cheek. "Don't hate him... It will be difficult for him... I need you to watch over him... He'll need you, even if he won't admit it... Be strong for him... For me..." Her voicehad grown softer, and her features seemed tired. "Promise me you'll watch over him, please." Clara could feel her heart burning, much like her eyes. She was watching her mother die and couldn't do anything to fix it.

"I promise..." Clara whispered as she took hold of her mothers hand and stood, leaning her head against her mother's. Clara listened as her mother's breath slowed, and slowed, and then stopped.

A loud continuous beep filled her ears as the heartbeat moniter sounded the end of Catalina Sol.

 **A/N: Now that that depressing story is out of the way, let's meet the other me-... I mean, let's move on to the next chapter... Hehe...**


End file.
